Paris Attacks Planned by 27-Year-Old Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian radical and "one of the most active" IS executioners in Syria, is believed to be the mastermind of the Paris terrorist attacks.

According to an unnamed official, the 27-year-old, currently in Syria, is also linked to attacks on a high-speed train bound for Paris from Amsterdam and a church in France earlier this year.

In a video that emerged in 2014, Abaaoud explained "All my life, I have seen the blood of Muslims flow. I pray that Allah will break the backs of those who oppose him, his soldiers and his admirers, and that he will exterminate them".